The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-01-02
A FASHION WRITER.
THE STORY TOLD BY A PRE-EM-
INENTLY SUCCESSFUL WOMAN.


of Her Own Force. of Mind-The He
ginning of business Career-wagc.
of Writers
am blessed with the acquaintance Of a
woman who makes better income than
hundreds of lawyers, doctors or business men,
and simply by scratching her clever pen She
Is pre- -eminentiy a successful woman. Young,
interesting, bright as q gold coin fresh from
the die, with face no man will ever forget
If he talks TO her ten minutes. and with all
her triumphs still preserving that intangible
touch of femlninity without which woman
hood has no charm. Men whose names are
familiar as writers speak of her as one of
themselves. She is bonnie camarade with
out the faint of bohemianism. She neither
cuts her brown hair short nor her gowns
scant. She is a woman Of society, whose ac-
quaintance Is favor to the man upon whom
she bestows it. There is not the faintest sug-
gestion of the blue stocking either i'm her man.
ner, dress or conversation. Purely, sweetly,
completely, she Is woman, with all the
tenderness, the helplessness, the willfulness of
womanhood Yet when business claims her
attention there is no more rigid disciplinarian
than this woman i'm the command of her own
forces of mind, and brain, and character. She
is a woman who writes, whom everybody
scientiously.
EARNING A LIVING.
She received her visitor i'm an apartment
which appeared to hesitate i'm deciding
whether to become a boudoir or a reception
room. slender, graceful, girlish figure,
great eyes that fasten you with their inten-
sity. pure complexion, white with a stu
dents pallor, and the smallest of kid boots
peeping from under the hem of tailor made
gown. The charm was in listening to her,
for there was music i'm the cadences of her
voice.
"WiI I tell how l began to writes With
pleasure"
"WhenF
Just six years ago, without any previous
training or experience, i suddenly found that
would have to earn my living, and deter
mined to make every effort to succeed
had no recommendations or introductions
but went to the head of a large publishing
establishment, and applied for something Ia
do. ! was asked all sorts of questions
Could write anythings And as it was the
only specimen of my composition available,
1 produced letter had written. IL was de
cided to give me an opportunity, and then
the question of salary was discussed. 1t was
settled that l was to get $40 week. Ny
hours were to be from a. m. to 5 p. m. and
"The first few days l spent looking around
observing the other people at work and read
ing back numbers of the magazine published
10y the concern. At the end of that time ]
wrote an article on the very womanly sub
ject of Fans. Other work came into my
hands, and although when I began l scarcely
knew cashmere from camels hair, | deter
mined TO learn the trade thoroughly, and to
day know from the most practical proofs
that / am rated as one of the best fashion
writers i'm New York. Before my first year
was up was earning $40 a week, and had
been shown, by their thoughtfulness for my
comfort, that the firm for whom l worked
fully appreciated my endeavors
KEEPING BUSINESS HOURS.
"Until a change was made in my hours, 90
that might do a great deal of my work at
home, never failed to be at my desk at a.
m, and to this positive adherence to work, q
a rule against which many women complain,
and to the fact that never broke an appoint
ment credit my reputation as a good busi-
ne8 woman. Then, too, never forgot was
Q woman, and for that reason men were
always courteous to me. l simply did my
work In the best way possible, spoke In the
frankest way, and made il an absolute rule
not to let social and business affairs inter
mingle. / have no home, but the imperson-
a week, which sum, by a couple of poems. has
often reached 500. ! gave no wares away
if they are not worth buying they had best
be destroyed. Where giving is concerned, /
prefer giving my money to giving my works y
rs the social standing of women affected
by her being in busincss.'
positively no, if their friends are among a
good class of people and the offensive talk OF
shop is dropped after business hours. \ man
does not entertain the woman he takes into
dinner or with whom la dances the cotiliol
with history of his working hours or the
rise in the price of leather and there is no
reason why woman should not copy her
superiors in this respect What are the hes;
lines for a woman entering literary life 10
pursueT
Among the women WHO write those who
are making the most money, which is, after
all, the basis of Success in the business world
are the women who write upon fashion, house
hold matters or stories for children, all sub
jects eminently adapted for the female brain,
which, while it may he quicker, certainly
does not possess the reasoning faculty of a
man. | know two women who write who get
SEQ a week. and another who gets SIS week
and their work is not hard. Cor. New York
Star